In a situation that reflected the victory of the cross-species alliance, the crew of the Normandy had changed considerably during Shepard's convalescence and return to active duty – the frigate had been seconded to extended duties as a Spectre command reporting to the Council itself rather than direct to the Systems Alliance.
This gave Shepard more flexibility in recruitment, which she had leveraged while recovering. The crew was now truly multi-species; the tactical team in the CIC was now comprised of human, asari and turian personnel.
Grace Sato had also joined the permanent crew of the Normandy, the Alliance Technician, was another of the individuals who had encountered Shepard during a mission. She'd been instrumental in constructing communications arrays for intelligence gathering during the war. She was now partnered with Samantha in the CIC as they developed more advanced data gathering and analysis technologies and techniques.
The new acquisitions officer was a female volus, Paliss Dyran, recommended by Barla Von for both her abilities to manage inventory requirements and financial acumen. Miranda was taking full advantage of Paliss's book-keeping skills as they accounted for the ship's expenditures.
Engineers Daniels and Donnelly had transferred to the Normandy's new sister ship the 'Resilience' and their places were now filled by the quarians Kenn and Lia'Vael nar Ulnay, both of whom had been aided by Shepard during the Collector mission. In the short time they'd been aboard these young quarians had proved resourceful and almost as adept as Tali, much to Chief Adams' delight.
"Give them their dues Commander, quarian engineers are hard to beat. The scant resources they had to work with has created some of the most adaptable and innovative people I've ever seen," he stated wearing a huge grin while gazing proudly at his new team members. As with Tali, he'd taken a real shine to these two and taken them under his protective wing.
The company of marines aboard the ship was currently commanded by James Vega, his armour proudly displaying the red and white stripes of his new N7 status. He'd successfully completed his training while Shepard recovered from her injuries. James was working closely with Lieutenant Marie Durand, she was due to assume command when James re-deployed to an N7 specialist squad in the next few months. Ana had requested Marie's transfer to the Normandy following a lengthy correspondence with her, James's departure had only accelerated the need for a replacement officer of marines.
Lt Durand had been in command of a company of marines stationed at a listening post on Nepmos. They had almost been overwhelmed by rachni secreted on a supply shuttle by Cerberus. Her performance during the encounter and subsequent efforts against reaper forces led Ana to actively recruit her for the Normandy, she wanted the best on her ship.
James and Marie's squad now contained two Asari commandos, one of which, Zenifer 'Zen' T'Veyne, was the same huntress saved by Tali and Ashley while searching for Ana. While being treated for her injuries she'd been confined to the same ICU as Shepard until she recovered enough to be transferred to a non-critical ward.
During Zen's time at the ICU she, Ash,Tali and Miranda had built up a rapport and they had encouraged the asari to apply to the Alliance Navy when she was fit again. When discharged from hospital she reported back to Asari Command and she'd been overjoyed to learn that another of her squad had also survived the battle. Following this both she and her friend and fellow survivor, Lyga Peari, had requested transfers to the Alliance and the Normandy.
The last addition to the squad, to everyone's surprise, was a Batarian recruit named Samo Bas'Merr. unlike his species general demeanour, he was softly spoken and friendly with no hint of the anger and distrust so common amongst his people, he was shy and trying to fit into the squad. James and Marie were drilling them all hard to build up squad cohesion and a comradeship between the marines.
Garrus had relinquished his position as Gunnery Officer and also transferred to the Resilience, Shepard had a new gunner in the form of a hulking Krogan warrior from clan Urdnot, Mazk. When Ana had toured the ship on her return she ensured she spoke with all the crew members, new and old, "Don't worry Shepard, it's just another big gun, the Krogan are good with guns no matter the size. Clan Chief Wrex and Aralakh Commander Grunt both speak highly of you and said you always find the best fights, heh, heh!".
"That does seem to be the case Mazk although I'm not sure anything can top the Reapers," she said with a smile, "But welcome aboard anyway!".
Another quarian, Neena'Xulan vas Zeedor had also been recruited to the crew, one of the expanded flight deck personnel list, she was a talented shuttle and fighter pilot. Partnered with Steve Cortez, the intention was for one of them to provide close fighter protection for the UT-47A Kodiak shuttle when it was launched. They could also act as fighter support to the Normandy itself when both the Normandy's F-61 Tridents were deployed.
Every new crew member had been closely vetted before being allowed onboard the frigate, they had received physical and psych evaluations, their backgrounds investigated and cleared for deployment. Liara had also used her Shadow Broker network to further check these individuals.
The Normandy itself had been retro-fitted once again following the destruction of the Reapers and to accommodate the diverse and increased crew.
The life support room previously occupied by Thane now housed the quarian crew members, this had been partitioned to give privacy for the male and female crew. While their previously weakened immunity systems were being bolstered by geth nano-technology the quarians could use these quarters as a clean-room environment if required. As they gradually adapted to the ship's internal atmosphere they were starting to spend increasingly longer periods in which they were able to forego their enviro-suits. As a result, they were often seen around the ship dressed in alliance fatigues adapted to their physique, but their suits were still necessary when leaving the ship.
Deciding to retain the quarian tradition of adopting the name of their new ship upon which they served. Neena'Xulan, Lia'Vael and Kenn had proudly become 'vas Normandy', the same as their famous admiral cum ambassador Tali'Zorah vas Normandy.
Miranda's original quarters, used by Liara as a temporary Shadow Broker base, had been stripped out and re-fitted to provide further crew accommodation. This was primarily being used by the marines as the middle deck location enabled them to deploy quickly to the CIC or cargo decks if needed.
The cargo bay, in addition to tiered bays for the two new Trident fighters and Javelin torpedoes, now had a shooting range facility so all crew members could hone their mandatory shooting skills, this was protected by kinetic barriers to prevent accidental damage to the ship or equipment.
Within the firearms range hydraulic barricades had been installed into the floor. These could rise to waist height and were invaluable in training the marines in teamwork utilising multiple weapon and biotic combinations over varied terrain. These obstacles could be programmed to rise and lower using a pre-selected or randomised sequence to push the marines even further to adapt their offensive and defensive strategies. Primarily intended for training purposes they could also be used as defensive positions if the Normandy was boarded through the cargo bay.
The most extensive refit had taken place on the command deck however as a large war-room was no longer required. The whole area behind the CIC was re-designed and resembled the original Cerberus template. The security station had been removed and the space now contained a small kitchen area and seats where bridge crew could take short breaks. Behind this was the re-located life support controls and further down were personal quarters for the senior staff. The blocked port-side doorway had been re-opened and led through to the XOs meeting room where Miranda held admin briefings, this room led onto her private quarters.
The corridor connecting port and starboard areas had also been reinstated with lift doors installed from this side too. The war-room, now downsized, had been relocated to the site of the old briefing room. It combined both war and briefing room functions. This was Samantha Traynor's domain when not in the CIC as she'd decided to continue serving aboard the Normandy. Leading from the war-room was the vid-comm room.